Team Magma's enormous submarine slowly rose, breaking the surface in barely half a minute.
The hatch had only just opened when Maxie impatiently led Tabitha and the other members out.
But no sooner had they left the hatch, before they could jump off the submarine, than they spotted an enormous red figure in the middle of the island, roaring skyward amid the churning magma!
Their familiarity with it allowed them to recognize it at a glance: this was Groudon, the Pokémon that haunted their dreams!
Except...
"What!?" Tabitha exclaimed at the sight of Groudon. "Groudon!? B-but wasn't it supposed to be underground? Why has it come up here?"
Maxie's face was grim as well. He found it just as unbelievable, unable to understand why Groudon, which should have been asleep, had suddenly awakened now for no reason!
They had already monitored it with instruments for some time and knew that the energy within its body had remained perfectly stable, in a dormant state. Without outside interference, it would not, and should not, have awakened for several months at the earliest, or even years!
But now...
Why had it suddenly awakened?
Especially... at such a critical moment!?
Controlling a sleeping Groudon and controlling an awake Groudon were two entirely different propositions, with two entirely different levels of difficulty!
Frowning, he scanned the surroundings, but apart from Groudon, he found nothing else, human or Pokémon.
"Boss, what do we do?" Tabitha turned toward him, his tone hesitant. Even he knew that this sudden development had seriously disrupted their plans!
Maxie also realized that he had to make an immediate choice-lead these people in a desperate attempt to capture and control Groudon, or withdraw for now, regroup, and return another day.
After less than two seconds of thought, he made up his mind.